Straightening Out the Enola Gay

“Who controls the past, controls the future.

Who controls the present controls the past.”

George Orwell, from his novel, 1984

The name Enola Gay may mean nothing to quite a few people these days. That’s OK. While I never met Enola Gay, I’ll betcha she was a nice lady. After all, her son, Col. Paul Tibbetts Jr., was a US Army Air Force bomber pilot during WWII.

And you gotta just love a mom who can handle a son’s airplane obsession.

But, Enola Gay was also important in American military history.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, Paul Tibbetts Jr. and 11 other men climbed aboard a Boeing B-29 Super Fortress nicknamed after his mom. The aircraft headed northwest from the Northern Mariana Islands on a six-hour flight to Hiroshima, Japan, where it unleashed the first atomic weapon ever used in anger.

The resulting explosion and firestorm claimed the lives of 70 to 80,000 of Hiroshima’s 350,000 citizens. Three days later, another B-29 detonated a second atomic weapon over Nagasaki, Japan.

Six days later, on August 15, 1945, the Empire of Japan surrendered unconditionally, bringing WWII to a close.

What’s so Important About Tibbett’s Mom and the B-29?

This polished aluminum piece of aviation history and Tibbett’s mom have recently come under fire by the current White House. Not because of what the aircraft and Enola represent exactly, but because of her name, actually her middle name … Gay.

Now I know Enola Gay probably just got caught up in some AI app the White House turned loose on its websites, but that also didn’t stop them.

In this current political climate, gay has become a bad word.

Some Americans fear that even seeing the word gay in print, much less hearing it, will instantly turn millions of young people into the walking dead of our society, blindly following a lifestyle of immoral outrage and evil. The Pentagon is currently cleaning house on its websites, ensuring the word gay and its sister acronym DEI and any associated content never again see the light of day … ever. Except, of course, they already have.

The collateral damage to this ridiculous authoritarian move aimed at protecting America is that it will also erase a critical piece of history from existence … as if it never happened … hence the Orwell quote. This is the most recent example of a government that has decided for us that the wrongs of history can be righted by simply removing offending words everywhere.

We had a story at Jetwhine a few weeks back in which Jenny Beatty took people to task about their need to condemn anyone associated with the DEI acronym. Millions of Americans believe that DEI is responsible for a host of the world’s ills, like … OMG … allowing women to enter roles that have been traditionally male dominated … flying airplanes, becoming air traffic controllers or A&P mechanics for heavens sake.

Take U.S. Air Force Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the country’s first female fighter pilot. Critics claim DEI completely explains her rise in rank and experiences. They of course believe DEI translates into Didn’t Earn It.

DOD Action

The Defense Department recently began flagging for removal any photos that could possibly be linked to DEI – like a photo of the Enola Gay because it uses … that word. Other photos thought to be offending contained images of Black women serving during WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. Seriously, we all know those women couldn’t possibly have accomplished anything significant if someone else hadn’t turned a blind eye to their obvious incompetence. And let’s not forget library systems around the nation taking pride in removing offensive books from their shelves.

Today, it’s the Enola Gay on the chopping block of history and references to diversity, equity and inclusion. What’s next?

Even if this current purge is never completed, the White House’s initial efforts since January 20th should give you a pretty good idea of how they’re thinking.

But surely our Democracy is strong enough to withstand this kind of silliness, you say.

Me … I’m not so sure after watching the new administration try to poke holes in the system of government we’ve cherished for nearly 250 years.

Having served overseas in the Air Force during the Vietnam Era, I can tell you that millions of people around the world still envy we Americans this marvelous democracy, even with all its shortcomings … – for now, at least. My time overseas was my first real involvement with people who didn’t think or look like me and frankly it was eye opening, in a good way.

But banning words and books won’t change who we are. People who think differently will still have those ideas locked in our minds … where no government can touch them.

As writer and philosopher George Santayana, said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Think this is all a silly notion?

I challenge you to spend a little time supporting our Democracy and enhancing your own education by reading one of the epic books of the 20^th century: William Shirer’s “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.” Read about how Germany was slowly transformed into a dictatorship responsible for the deaths of tens of millions during its existence … all because the German people thought Hitler would never last.

And as soon as you finish that massive volume, head over to the library and pick up a copy of George Orwell’s “1984” … assuming it hasn’t been banned, of course.

See if you don’t come away viewing what’s happening here in the good old USA a little differently.

Rob Mark